06-26-24: Kirsten DeLeo,

Mindfulness and Caring for the Dying

00:25: Sean Fargo introduces Kirsten deLeo

04:15: Kirsten guides a grounding meditation

08:45: Presence and mindful awareness as care in itself

10:50: Kirsten’s background in early hospice care

15:00: The importance of community support (for both the dying and the caregivers)

18:02: The role models and early experiences that encouraged Kirsten

21:20: Question: What brought you here today? Is there one thing you’d like to learn about?

24:40: Bringing mindfulness to potential power imbalances between giver and receiver

26:19: Mindfulness as defined in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition

27:30: “Of all mindfulness meditations, that on death is supreme.”

32:45: Awakening to the reality of death as awakening to our life and how we’re living

35:22: The difference between “helping” and “accompanying” 

38:12: When deaths are very difficult

41:59: The potential impact of just one stable presence in the room 

42:52: Question: Is there anything you invite people to consider regarding the afterlife?

44:01: Kirsten shares the practices that help her, and which practices she might share with the dying person

49:20: Question: How do we know when we’re prolonging versus relieving suffering?

54:38: Guided Meditation: “Another You” (Just Like Me)

1:06:04: Guided Meditation: “Entering Another’s World”

1:16:09: Leaving our comfort zone to grow our compassionate muscle

1:19:26: Question:  Discerning between the needs of the dying person, and the needs of all who love them

1:24:27: Question: What to do if I’m feeling too overwhelmed to be there? 

1:28:09: Guided Meditation: Essential Phowa

1:46:02: Sharing final thoughts